nadine feldman

Good Morning, Monday! Greetings from Sils-Maria, Switzerland!

August 29, 2011 by admin

What better way to ponder the upcoming week, and a new month, than to put on hiking shoes and wander the Swiss trails? Here in Sils, a small village west of St. Moritz in the Engadine Valley, I am far from the noise of my hometown, far from politics, far from all that concerns me. Instead, I focus on one footfall at a time, practicing mindfulness in order not to fall off a mountain!

Yesterday we wandered to the Fex Valley, a place we wanted to visit in January but couldn’t because there was too much ice on the trail. We admired wildflowers, clear streams, and mountains covered with emerald green instead of snow. Part of the magic of Switzerland is finding a charming restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and we enjoyed some rosti with tomatoes and cheese for a hearty lunch. Rosti is basically a meal-sized portion of hash browns (only better), and these were done to crispy perfection. Rosti makes for a great hiking meal, and I find myself craving it when we come here.

After lunch we took a spontaneous trip up the side of a mountain so we could see the lake there. The sign suggested it would take two hours, and those signs are normally reliable. This time, though, it was about an hour short. We live, after all, at sea level, and we huffed and puffed our way up, stopping frequently to catch our breath. Once a herd of cows stopped us as they blocked our path, and one curious cow decided it wanted one of my hiking poles. We decided to find another way around them, circling through pasture and back to the path.

We finally made it to our summit, where we saw a glorious view of the valley below, including the opalescent Lake Sils. From a distance we could no longer see the windsurfers out playing on a Sunday afternoon, but the larger view of mountains, glaciers, and meadows was worth the effort. My feet didn’t agree as we finally landed back in Sils at 6:30 p.m. after 2,800 feet up (and back down), but we loved having a story to tell.

While in Sils, I feel myself in transition. Summer continues to rage back home in Houston, with highs reaching 109 degrees, but fall approaches. My novel is back with the editor for one more look before I put it out into the world. I prepare to send her another manuscript. I have begun others, but am not sure which story will call to me next. I am stepping back from some of my normal day-to-day routine to fill the inner well and find the Next Project.

When we are in transition, and our dreams are in process but not yet manifest, taking time to be in silence and stillness can ease the drama of our daily lives, freeing us to create. As we ease into September, A Woman’s Nest will focus on how to do that.

Many people tell me, for example, that they can’t meditate because “I can’t get my mind quiet.” I was thinking of that yesterday as we hiked in the mountains in one of the quietest places on earth. Even here, there is not absolute stillness. A breeze blows through the wildflowers. Water rushes over rocks down the mountainside. Birds call. Cow bells ring. Nature is never completely silent, and seldom will we be, either. But I would like to demystify meditation this month so that we stop worrying about stilling the mind and start accepting a river of peace that flows gently beneath the other noise that exists, allowing that noise to be there without judgment.

Swiss Flowers — Flowers Abound! Here are some to brighten your day.

Another reason to find stillness is that when we start to manifest our dreams, we will bump up against fear, doubt, and frustration. As we keep coming back to center, we can learn to deal with inevitable discouragement. Our Wednesday features will focus on the challenges and opportunities that come as we open ourselves up to deeper self-expression. Our Tuesday reviews will focus on DVDs and books that can inspire us when we need to be lifted up.

Have a great week! Thanks for visiting my blog, and come back tomorrow for the Discovery Tuesday!

Blog Discovery Thursday: Baby Boomer Cafe

August 25, 2011 by admin

I fell asleep to the sound of thunder, a rare sound these days in Houston. Our high temperatures have hit at least 100 degrees every day in August with no end in sight. I stepped outside this morning to find the ground somewhat moist–the thunder did not portend a storm for our area. Still, I’ll take whatever relief I can get.

Today I am rewriting the first scene of my upcoming novel, Change of Plans, and will then send it back to my editor for review. While I’m working on that, I’ll share with you a blog that looks really great. Thanks to my hubby for finding it for me!

The Boomer Cafe has been around for twelve years and features writings by Boomers and for Boomers who want to maintain an active lifestyle. From humor to finances, Boomers can find plenty to read about. Plus, you’ll enjoy the comments that readers share. It’s a lot of fun! Check it out when you get the chance.

Thursday Blog Recommendation: National Association of Baby Boomer Women (NABBW)

August 18, 2011 by admin

Good morning, everyone!

I love Thursdays, because I get to share other websites that both inform and entertain, providing you, the reader, with much more content than I could provide alone. In recent weeks as I have revamped this blog, I have found genuine pleasure in finding resources to share. We Boomer women are forming a remarkable presence on the World Wide Web, with plenty of thoughtful insights and fine writing.

Today’s website is a real goodie! It’s the National Association of Baby Boomer Women. Here you’ll find a gathering place for articles of interest on women’s health, finances, humor, and more. the NABBW provides a staggering amount of information in an accessible format.

If you want to join the NABBW, you will pay $75, though there are ways to get discounts on that fee. However, I am currently at the “free” membership level, which allows me access to a wide range of information. So, you’ll have an opportunity to check it out before forking over any money.

Enjoy! I’ll be back Monday with more news and musings.

Wednesday Feature: Spiritual Archeology–Uncovering Our Identities

August 17, 2011 by admin

At this point in August, the nests are starting to empty as college students go off to school. Vacations are winding down. So now what? With the house quieter, our thoughts can turn to our own lives. Who are we outside of the role of parent? We may not even know the answer to that question, or even know where to begin to find the answer. Yet now is our time to discover ourselves.

This last year we returned to Rome, where ancient ruins coexist with roads, museums, and restaurants, the chaos of modern life. Turn a corner in Rome, and history rises up, sometimes unexpectedly, offering some treasure of an ancient and magnificent civilization. This time, having already seen many major sites on a previous trip, we went to the Domus Romane. Beneath the Palazzo Valentini, built in the 16th century and now home to governmental offices are the ruins of a home from the 2nd or 3rd century. We toured the museum on glass walkways that allowed us to peer into the past and into the former glory of the property, complete with mosaics in marvelous condition.

Our lives may look much like that. On the surface we have our jobs, our homes, our “stuff,” and it may all look pretty good. We just sometimes forget that we have deeper levels just waiting for excavation. Once we dig a little deeper, we may get very excited about what we find–and at midlife, we may feel the need, the urgency, to do so.

As someone who always planned to write a book “some day,” I struggled with how to get started. I had no ideas. I just knew I wanted to write. In the summer of 1997 I discovered Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and started to work the program she provides. Within three weeks I wrote my first short story, and I haven’t looked back. I have published one book, edited two others, and am completing two novels that I plan to e-publish. I have other novels in various stages of development, just waiting for me to get to them.

Not only did I connect with my writing life, but I also learned to quilt, played with photos, videos, and audio recordings, went back to school, took yoga teacher training, and started a garden, just to name a few. My husband and I travel as much as possible in our hunger to see the world. In short, I unearthed a wild cacophony of creativity that continues to insist on bursting forth. Even at 52, I am still making new discoveries. I recently, for example, became curious about medicinal herbs and am starting to learn more about them.

What dreams live inside of you that have gone unlived? Yes, parenting is noble, as is grandparenting. We all have a desire to make a difference in our families, and perhaps even the world, by giving. But what makes you tick? What matters to you as a person? What longings live inside that demand expressing? Further, once you’ve identified those longings, what do you do?

If you have had a secret desire to change careers, what would it take to do so? Even taking a class or two at night or online can help you move toward developing new skills. If your nest still isn’t empty, you can study alongside your children still at home, and they can watch you do your work, providing an invaluable example for them to follow. I grew up with parents who were readers, and as I observed them in the evenings, noses burrowed into books, I gained value from their example.

Whatever it is, you’re not too old. You may not make the Olympic team, but what about the Senior Olympics? Or, you may want to try your hand at a half marathon or lengthy charity bike rides. You may not build a major corporation, but do you have a small business idea worth exploring? Is it time to take that drawing class?

Maybe you have dreams but need to clear some financial dead wood first. What resources can you find, such as books by Suze Orman or Jerrold Mundis, to help you? What about Debtors’ Anonymous? Having lived through and overcome some financial nightmares, I know that financial problems can be solved, and sometimes more quickly than we might think.

This week, make a commitment to do something for yourself and your dream. It can be a baby step. Some people who start writing, start with a paragraph a day, and that can be enough to create a small spark of satisfaction and fulfillment that opens up a new world for you. What is your dream? How can you get there? Unsure? Let me hear from you.

Book Discovery Tuesday — New Menopausal Years: The Wise Woman Way by Susun Weed

August 16, 2011 by admin

My late mother-in-law used to tell me, “Just wait until you’re finished with menopause! You are going to feel so liberated!” At 52, I’m still waiting for that time! Despite my best intentions to keep a good attitude, I’m not totally excited about entering what feels like a second puberty. Just as when I was twelve or so, the clothes don’t fit right, and I grapple with overwhelm, anxiety, depression, and irritability. The other women in my family have had hysterectomies, so I have no one to give me a clue as to how much longer this will go on.

Still, I am nothing if not stubborn and determined. I’ve examined and re-examined my diet. I’ve adjusted my exercise regimen. I am religious about getting sleep. I manage my stress with regular massages and a dedicated yoga practice. Recently, though, in my continuing attempt to find inner peace in the midst of menopause, I turned to herbal remedies. One day I discovered an article on www.herbmentor.com by Susun Weed, an herbalist with a national reputation.

With quiet confidence, Susun calmed my fears and soothed my angst. She told me the same thing my mother-in-law once did, assuring me that I would feel better. She comforted me by validating my experience and not trying to “make it wrong.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve met women who come through menopause with just a few symptoms and assume that the rest of us should, too. Susun, instead, honors our individual experience. I was delighted to find a compassionate mentor and guide, so I bought her book, New Menopausal Years: The Wise Woman Way.

NMY is not a new book. Originally written in 1992, Susun last updated it in 2002. In fact, she has a new book out called Down There–but I haven’t read that one yet. I think, though, that when a book is good, it’s worth talking about no matter how old it is.

One of Susun’s great contributions in this book is to create a road map that she calls The Six Steps of Healing (she refers to the same process elsewhere as the Seven Rivers of Healing, in case you’re familiar with some of her work). For those of us making decisions about how much medical intervention to seek out, she suggests that we start with the first step — “Do nothing.” This does not mean take no action at all, but to wait and observe a symptom for a period of time that feels comfortable. Sometimes symptoms abate, and if we leave them alone they won’t go away. Other times, we find the symptoms increase, and then we may jump one or more of the steps of healing. Along the way, we empower ourselves to add interventions as we deem necessary that may include herbs, vitamins, or, in the sixth step, surgery or other more invasive medical treatment. With each symptom, Susun suggests treatments for each step of healing.

When recommending herbs, Susun also provides detailed instructions on how to prepare teas, infusions, and tinctures. Since reading her book, I have settled on a daily infusion of stinging nettle and oatstraw to provide energy, adrenal support, and mood regulation. When I am faithful to the regimen, I definitely feel better.

You may or may not agree with Susun on her methods, but she invites you to make up your own mind. She never insists that her way is the only way, but her ability to help us see our symptoms as manageable so that we can make informed decisions is invaluable. Reading New Menopausal Years, I started to see this time of my life as positive, not just intellectually, but in the deepest layers of my being. We are embracing a new identity, going from “mother” to “baby crone,” and it is, truly, an exciting time–as long as we can help ourselves with the layers of discomfort that accompany this transition.

For more information on Susun, who offers courses, other books, and a forum among other things, visit www.susunweed.com/.

Good Morning, Monday!

August 15, 2011 by admin

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Since I am neck-deep revising two novels, I have kept busy. I’m trying to get the latest versions done before we embark on our next trip in a few weeks. These revisions include increasing detail, so I’ve been “shopping” for my characters, buying them clothes and cars that show their lifestyle. My character Julia absolutely needed a little Mercedes Cabriolet convertible–red, of course! In my real life, I’m not fond of shopping (unless I’m with my sisters!), but I confess that I am having fun feeling like I’m revisiting childhood dress-up play.

As we enter into mid-August, for many of you the nests are emptying out. It’s a good time to think about playing dress-up with our own lives, whether that means trying on new clothes or trying on new activities to discover or rediscover our interests and passions. Last year I learned that I loved gardening, even though I never tried it until age 51. Who knows what surprises are in store, if we just open ourselves to this new phase? What can we learn about ourselves and what holds meaning for us?

While we’re playing dress-up with our new lives, we may feel like young adolescents in other ways, too, as hormones create interesting situations and force mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual transitions. This week, for our Book Discovery Tuesday, I am going to write about Susun Weed. While she has a new book that I haven’t yet read, I have found one of her older ones, The New Menopausal Years, to provide supportive help and relief for menopausal symptoms. It’s tough to be excited about the midlife years when we’re battling exhaustion, depression, and hot flashes! With warm, encouraging words, Susun initiates us into menopause, acknowledging both the challenges and the invitation to shed old roles that no longer serve us.

On Wednesday, we’ll talk more about uncovering our identities now that our roles as mothers diminish. We’ll look at how to find and rekindle old dreams, as well as how to manifest them. We’ll look at ways to cut away those activities that drain us or otherwise take us away from those dreams so that we can take time each day to take care of what truly matters to us.

I’m excited that some of you are starting to contact me and share your experiences! Please keep the feedback coming. Also, if you have a favorite blog to recommend for our Thursday blog feature, please let me know. Have a great week!